AoT: The New Face of Terror
by DexterJackson
Summary: What if the Titans appeared at the climax of World War II? No one knows how or why they appeared. All they know is that they are humanity's greatest threat and there is no possible way to stop them. The Titans now number in the millions and only a handful of nations remain. Can humanity finally rise up against their new enemy? An original SnK AU series.
1. Prologue: A Few Too Many

**Reader Discretion Advised for this series: Blood, Gore, Violence, Mature Subject Matter**

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**Prelude: State of the World**

It has been 31 years since humanity's new enemy appeared before them. They don't know who or what they are, they don't even know if they possess even a single iota of intelligence. Whatever they are, humanity colloquially refers to them as "Titans:" Large humanoid-like beings towering from 4m tall to - at most recorded so far - 15m. It is a mystery how they came to be but all that history recorded is that they appeared at the climax of World War II on the Japanese islands.

From then, they struck terror on many of the human nations, striking first the inhabitants of the Asian and European continent. Once bitter enemies of a bloody international war fought side by side, fortresses and front lines that were meant to push against enemy nations became the last line of defense against the Titan terror, devastating weapons meant to inflict severe harm to humans became the only thing that stood between survival and death. As valiantly as the Asian and European nations resisted, they fell swiftly. The Titans seized Asia and Europe, eventually migrating to Africa and finally, somehow, tread the oceans to the Americas, Australia, Great Britain, and Ireland. These were the last remnants of humans that remained, those who had time to prepare for the onslaught. They could only hold them back for so long.

A squad of soldiers lead a daring raid into Tokyo, Japan in an attempt to gather information on the origins of the Titans and they believed that finding the source will bring them the answers they seek. Humanity's hope lied in the success of this preliminary operation. This is their first ambitious mission into the heart of Titan territory and they hoped that the rewards would be well worth the extreme risk.

**1****st**** Raid of Japan ****(Tokyo, Japan, August 13, 1976)**

Tokyo's urban metropolis remained unchanged from the end of World War II. Many buildings were severely damaged or reduced to burning debris piles due to the American bombing campaigns, and also from Titans tearing their way through the city as they chased down whatever humans remained. When there was no one left on the islands, they roamed about passively, either staying in Japan or moving on to another continent to find another community of humans to terrorize and snack on. Just recently, they have become active again and headed towards Tokyo's former city hall, hoping to get a chance to feed on another group of humans in Tokyo. Sounds of gunfire, shattering glass, and cracking concrete reverberated between the buildings as the human soldiers ran out of the former city hall, guns blazing. Several lower class Titans varying from heights of 5m to 7m followed them out of the building, with a dozen more approaching rapidly from adjacent buildings.

"Once you get into the vehicles, head straight to rally point Coxwell, don't stop for anything," the leader of the squad barked out. "Dispersion pattern Delta, execute!"

The soldiers got inside a convoy of 5-door transports, their engines roaring to life. Standard recon operating protocols made sure that if the recon team was detected, they could have a quick way out to safety. This was the solution, retrofitting civilian hatchbacks for military use as they were the only available vehicle fast enough to perform such recon operations on Titans. There was no need for heavy weapons or tank-grade armor, remaining long enough in Titan territory to warrant the use of such things against them only equalled death.

The convoy at first travelled along the main road leading away from the city hall then splitting off onto different roads, each of the three vehicles in the convoy attracting several Titans. Along the road, they see reminders of the past on the streets, what used to be food stands, entertainment buildings, and what remained of a few manufacturing companies, signs that looked like they just dropped everything and ran. The charred structures, the numerous bones that littered the surface and the tattered fabrics of what used to be clothing were a chilling sight for the soldiers.

The squad captain tapped a button on the vehicle's radio console. "Barnes, Akido, report in."

There was a brief moment of static before the speaker burst out with another man's voice. "Barnes here Cap'n, we're evading lower class Titans at the western main road, ETA to convergence point 4 minutes."

"Akido here," another voice on the radio called out. "Burning rubber with these winding roads but we're managing. With Orido's driving, we can reach the convergence point in 2 minutes."

"Alright, don't stray any farther than you have to, we just need to delay them until the transport's ready, they're underway now."

"Understood, we'll see you in 5 minutes," Akido acknowledged the message and signed off. "We'll see you in a bit Captain," Barnes also acknowledged.

The captain tapped another button on the console to end communications and leaned back, only slightly fazed by the winding path the vehicle was taking to avoid debris on the road.

"Captain," another soldier called out from the backseat. The captain turned around, his demeanor expressing worry. "Captain, we're not going to be here any longer than we have to right?"

The captain gave a reassuring smile. "Don't worry son, we won't. Everyone is relying on us to get this information back to Command, and we'll get it to them before breakfast tomorrow, understood?"

The soldier nodded his head, and then responded confidently "yes sir."

The captain nodded and turned to face the front. This is the first time a mission of this caliber was executed. Of course there were bound to be some setbacks but so far, the mission was proceeding as planned. They managed to obtain several records from the archives of Tokyo and they hoped it would indicate something about their enemy.

"This is Alpha-Echo-One, cab ride's waiting," a voice called out from the radio speaker in the car.

"Damn right," the corporal remarked.

The Captain tapped the radio console and replied. "Acknowledged, we're headed to the runway now."

This was only a recon mission, and though they got what they needed, the consequences of coming here showed early in the mission. The captain could only imagine how much worse the consequences would be if it were an escalated assault against them.

'_In the next 50 years, we'd be more effective at combating these sons of bitches,_' he thought bitterly. '_This better be worth it._'

"Sir, we're approaching the convergence point," the driver reported.

The tires screeching from the car sliding around the city streets and the roaring of its powerful inline four turbo engine, as well as the dimming sound of loud pounding against pavement from the running Titans, slightly distorted the captain's sense of time.

'_Thought it'd be a few minutes more.' _He looked at the driver of the car. _'What did Tsuchida say he did before enlisting again…?'_

They arrived just as Akido's car pulled over to the right side of the road and signalled his lights. The driver side door opened and Akido's driver got out. Two other soldiers exited the vehicle and stretched their legs. They opened the hatch to break out some rations in the trunk before going back into the car.

"Thank you," the captain acknowledged. He picked up the radio mic to signal the other members of his squad. "Akido, we're pulling up to you now, get in position. Barnes, what's your location?"

There was no immediate response from Barnes, so the captain signalled him again. "Barnes come in, over."

Tsuchida stopped the captain's car behind Akido's and stepped outside to stretch his legs. The soldiers in the back seat lay back, taking the opportunity of brief respite to relax.

"Barnes, stop messing around," the captain said over the radio sternly.

"Must be all the debris interfering with the radio, captain," a soldier remarked from the back seat.

"It better be the debris," the captain replied. "If it's not, I'm going to leave-"

"Captain!" a static-ridden voice shouted from the radio. "We got a-"

The sound of crunching metal riddled through the headset and the voice was suddenly cut off.

Soon after, a car with tires screeching and slamming its engine rev limiter pulled out from a distant side road followed by the sound of erratic gunfire. The captain looked in horror to see a Titan clinging onto the roof of the car, with the bottom half of a man's body protruding from its mouth. Blood and chunks of flesh came out of the Titan's mouth as he was chewing up the body. The way he was dressed and equipped led everyone to presume that it was Barnes.

"Holy shit!" the second soldier in the captain's backseat yelled out.

The soldiers in both cars dismounted and readied their weapons, horrified at the scene they are witnessing.

"No! We need to go, now!" the captain yelled. He couldn't risk attracting more Titans to their position. Tsuchida and Orido wasted no time in getting the cars underway again, and the soldiers, dismayed at what they are witnessing, got back into the cars. They had no choice but to leave Barnes' team behind.

"We can't shake him!" the driver of Barnes' car called out on the radio. "Shoot the fucking thing off!"

As much as the captain wanted to help them, he knew that if he did, he would be putting the rest of his squad at risk. It was only a single Titan on the car but they were short on time, and the captain knew that if they stopped now, there is a chance that they will all die from the Titans.

"No! The last thing we need is to have more men die for this mission! I'm sorry, you need to manage on your own!" the captain put the radio mic down and hit the side panel of his door in despair. _'Goddamnit!'_

"We need to stop and deal with this sir!" the worried soldier urged.

"You know I can't do that Corporal!"

"Captain what the fuck! We don't leave our men behind! Not to those… those fuckers out there!"

The captain already knew that their fates were sealed when that Titan climbed onto their roof. He was not about to seal theirs trying to change the fate of doomed soldiers.

"And what do you want me to do about it Corporal?" the captain rebutted. "You want us to face those fuckers out there too?!"

"Just do something!"

The captain sighed. _'The least I could do is put them out of their misery.'_

He didn't want to risk the mission, but he didn't want to be responsible for a cruel death, especially for those under his command, to the Titans. He felt that he had to do what he could.

The captain tapped the radio console and began to give orders.

"Tsuchida, Orido, find us a position further ahead then put us in a barricade position. The rest of you, when I give the word drop whatever explosives you have along the road, don't arm them."

Reports of acknowledgement were received from the radio and the soldiers in the car.

"Now!" the captain signalled.

The car stopped in a defensive position. The soldiers dropped whatever explosives they had out the window on the ground below them, the captain saving one grenade.

Barnes' now shredded transport was approximately 30 meters behind and closing, still driving erratically trying to shake the Titan off the roof. Only Barnes's left leg was visible from its mouth now.

"I'm sorry about this," the captain mumbled to himself.

"Tsuchida, Orido, go!" he yelled. He pulled the pin on the grenade and dropped it along with the other explosives on the ground. The two remaining transports zipped away to a safe distance as they watch what happened next behind them.

Barnes' transport crossed the line of explosives and the grenade detonated, causing a chain reaction among the other destructive devices, spawning a huge fireball and a small shockwave which shattered the glass of the surrounding buildings and blew debris in various directions.

The corporal stared in shock. "Captain…"

The car went up in flames; whoever was inside surely did not survive. The Titan was shocked from the explosion and the debris which scarred its face. It was thrown off from the car and against a building several feet away, cracking the concrete facing of the structure.

"Captain… what, wh-"

"You did what you had to," Tsuchida remarked. He continued driving the car behind Akido's, headed to rendezvous with their transport out of Tokyo.

"No, we could've saved them! For fuck's sake captain-"

The captain noted he was the only one who didn't throw out any explosives. His vest pouches were still full.

"Don't make this harder for him that it already is Corporal!" the other soldier intervened. "Sarge Barnes was like a younger brother to him, he doesn't need to hear it from you."

He looked at the captain through the rearview mirror and saw it in his face, the realization of what he has done.

"… Captain, I'm sorry. We couldn't have-"

"No, no," he quietly replied. "I knew that this could happen. We all knew the risks." He glanced at the passenger side mirror, the fire from the car raging and Titans behind it giving chase.

"I'm sorry that this didn't turn out as well as I thought it would." But as composed as the captain was, he was on the verge of breaking down.

The two soldiers in the back seat looked at him bitterly. Tsuchida glanced at him worriedly. The only sound that could be heard was from the hum of the car's engine and the now dirt road the two cars were travelling on, rubbers tires crunching the earth that remained untouched for over 30 years. There was a distant sound of aircraft propellers running up ahead. It was no help for the silence that reinforced the bitter mood. The captain regained his composure.

"Many have died, and many will continue to do so. For our own survival. We're not done here."

"And we're coming back for more of this shit? Are these commanders insane?!" the other soldier questioned.

"It's a necessity for survival," the captain answered. He and the two soldiers looked down in despair. "If we don't do this, then who will? Who's going to stand up against these assholes? If we don't, then we might as well be dead."

Silence remained in the vehicle cabin. The transports pulled up to a long stretch of wide road which led out of Tokyo's downtown and into a former airbase. A C-130 transport aircraft had its propellers running and slowly rolled down the runway away from the cars, towards the end. It slowly opened its rear cargo door to let the convoy in.

"Sir, we lost Major Miller and his team before we even started the mission," Tsuchida pointed out. "Exactly how many more 'sacrifices' are we making to finally end these bastards?"

It was clear to Tsuchida that morale was impacted but he wanted to be sure. The captain sighed and looked at the transport that was going to bring the squad out of Tokyo and back to the safety of their base. There were slots for four vehicles in the cargo hold, and only two of the four hatchbacks deployed to the captain's squad were coming back intact. 21 men deployed for what was supposed to be an 'in and out' recon mission, 21 men formerly in command of Major Ian Miller, even he could not survive the Titan onslaught despite his experience. Of the 21 men, only 9 survived the return trip to safety.

"A few more. A few too many."

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_**Author's Notes:**_

_Hey everyone, I hope you enjoyed that little "sample" of what's to come for my new fanfic. It's my first time writing a major fic and thought I'd finally get it published on here for others to read._

_So I had this idea brew up while browsing through Tumblr, watching some TV, and a couple of movies online (not all at the same time lol) when I thought 'what if SnK happened in a more modern setting?' I thought up of a quick little scenario, turned out to be this, and I saw the potential it could have as an Alternate Universe series thing._

_I started developing how the universe would look like, who would be involved, how the Titan menace would begin, and all that kind of stuff. Took me a while, I started this last year, and I'm still not finished. I do, however, have a substantial amount of content written down that I'd love to finally share with others._

___Thanks for checking this out everyone, and I hope you like the premise! (:_

_Oh and just be aware, I might update a bit inconsistently. Life gets busy but when I do get the chance, I will put out additional chapters!_

_- Dexter_


	2. Chapter One: On That Day

**Chapter One: On That Day**

**How It All Began: A History Lesson**

"The remaining survivor nations of humanity were safe from the initial Titan onslaught. They are the remains of the American continent nations, Great Britain, Ireland, and Australia, and they represented the known survivor communities that exist on Earth. The Titans appeared shortly after the climax of World War II in August 1945, soon after the two prototype nuclear bombs were dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

"Six days after the bombings, the Japanese government surrendered to the Allies on the condition that their people are allowed to be evacuated to either the Chinese or American mainland 'due to economic and infrastructure failure'. The Allies suspected that the Japanese did not disclose the true reasons for such conditions, but they were allowed evacuation to the Chinese mainland. Several days after the bombing, the Allies discovered why the Japanese demanded such conditions: the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were crowded with large humanoids, Titans, and were spreading outward rapidly.

"The Japanese committed what little they had of their Imperial Armed Forces left towards repelling the Titans. A large number of the force, however, did not survive, and only a handful of Titans were killed outside the bombing fallout zone before they were overrun. They began evacuation despite setbacks from the Allies, going as far as to bypass blockades using whatever cruisers they had left to oppose the Allied navy. Once the scope of the situation was finally understood by the Allies, severe casualties have already been inflicted.

"Titans had already taken to the waters as well, headed for the mainland of China, their strange characteristics allowing them to somewhat traverse and survive extended periods underwater. They decided to evacuate as much of the population as possible, using any working ships from the ports and having Allied carriers and ships load as many people as possible. 24% of Japan's total population were onboard Allied ships headed to America, another 7% evacuated from small fishing boats and civilian vessels. The rest of the population were left behind to fend for themselves, their fates sealed when the President of the United States ordered Japan and the Pacific Theatre to be abandoned. He also gave an order to bombard overrun areas of Japan using the remaining prototype nuclear bombs in an effort to kill the Titans. Unfortunately somehow, this had the effect of almost doubling the amount of Titans that appeared.

"Japan fell in less than a year, with no survivors reported from scouting flights, and much of Eastern Asia is in disarray. Many islands and nations had no way of combating such a threat and as a result, their inhabitants perished or fled to the seas if they were lucky. The nations in Middle Asia tried to create a wall which would join each other in order to form the Great Middle Eastern Wall. Unfortunately, the Titan advance was too quick and not enough construction materials could be produced in a short term.

"The rapid advance of the Titans from the east devastated the continents of Asia and Europe. Africa was the last continent to fall to the Titans' advance from Asia, valiantly resisting but ultimately fell or were forced into hiding and ceded territory to them. The Americas, the British Islands, Australia and New Zealand had sufficient time to prepare adequate defenses and set up walls to barricade their cities, keeping their losses at bay. The remaining nations formed their own sovereignties as we know it: the Americas forming the American Coalition, the British Islands forming the United Kingdom, and Australia and New Zealand forming the Oceania Commonwealth. Though they are separate government entities, they remained united under the common cause of survival. They represent humanity's last hope against the Titans.

"The fear of the Titans sparked a rapid evolution of technology with the remaining nations, focused on developing offensive and defensive capabilities that would give them the edge over the Titans' numbers and resiliency. Mistakes from operations were studied and improved upon, electronics evolved, efficient weapons and sturdy defense measures were conceived, new fields of study were introduced, many technologies that were considered a dream of the future were suddenly on the streets, all of which advanced us into the peak of the post-modern age in the span of 50 years.

"Our cities started to run on natural electricity and nuclear fusion, a direct counterpart of nuclear fission. It was understood that nuclear fission played a part of the appearance of the Titans, but it was not directly responsible for it. Realizing this, nuclear physics was further researched which allowed the conception of nuclear fusion reactors and related technology. The spark of technological evolution kept us fed and provided respite amongst a dark time, made sure that we used our now limited resources efficiently and defend ourselves appropriately. It kept morale high with the thinking that the marvels of technological growth developed could be the solution to overcoming the Titans, and at the time, we weren't wrong.

"The American Coalition launched a string of deployments from an offshore base, also famously known as Operation Fairway, in 1976 up until 1980 in an attempt to determine the origins of the Titans and to prove that our technological growth was capable of opposing them. We were successful, to an extent. The answers obtained from raiding archives and old records only provided more questions about the Titans and what the Japanese at the time were up to. To this day, reports are still being deciphered and analyzed by the Coalition Intelligence Agency.

"This information came with a high price: several battalions of the Coalition Forces' best soldiers dealt considerable blows to the Titans but were lost in the process, casualties numbering thousands of troops. The operation, though successful in its purpose, was considered a failure because of its high casualty rating. Morale was the most affected, causing surviving nations to scrap any other idea of expeditionary operations. However, the American Coalition has reconsidered launching another operation, this time learning from the reports and mistakes of Operation Fairway."

**(Fort Carson, Colorado, September 7, 1999)**

The room was suddenly filled with a white light as the projector was shut off and the powerpoint slides were replaced by a blank white board.

"That's it for the introduction presentation," the instructor declared as he stood up from his chair behind the podium. "Many of these subjects will be covered in more detail as Basic Knowledge progresses through the semester. Don't forget CSM Kuriyama will be instructing your Combat phase column from now on. Dismissed."

The class members put away their books and tablet into their packs and stood up, filing out one by one through the door to the hallway. The instructor also secured his tablet and shut the screen off.

He waited for the last student to leave the room. "So what'd you think of that?"

"Heh," a man in the corner of the room huffed. He put his legs down from the chair and stood up. "I'm impressed. You made a boring introductory class sound… even more boring."

The instructor sighed and crossed his arms. "I worked on that for a week and all you can say is it's even more boring than the previous one."

"It's just a lot of information to take in at once, even if they are just introductory topics." The man shuffled down the shallow incline of stairs next to the wall.

"I put pictures and videos from actual missions! I had to dig deep for those videos from Fairway. I thought it'd be worth it," the instructor noted despairingly. He disconnected the interface connectors and slid his tablet into his shoulder bag, sitting on the tabletop.

The other man chuckled. "Those were definitely a good addition, it gives the viewer a visual aid, though the walls of detailed text could be… smaller."

The instructor nodded. "Okay, what else could it improve on?"

He smiled slightly. "For starters, it could be easier on the eyes. And make sure to keep it concise."

**Recall – Akira Okazaki ****(Denver, Colorado, September 7, 1999)**

A middle aged man overlooked the city of Denver through his apartment window, the reflection of the sun causing him to squint slightly to see the outside. A large concrete wall about 30m tall dominated the perimeter of the city, the only way to prevent the Titans from entering and causing panic. It is one of the many cities all over the American continents that have been expanded and walled up to preserve as much of the population and culture as possible from being lost to the Titans. Though the sun shone bright, it was only for a brief moment before the cloudy day blocked the sunlight from coming through. The shadows the clouds cast on the city skyline showed the glimmering lights from each of the buildings.

The lights reminded Akira Okazaki of events that transpired long ago, almost 55 years in fact, when he was but a small child only 3 years old. He remembers it clearly, how his family was the last to leave from Takanabe in the former Miyazaki Prefecture. He remembers being taken by a US Marine and brought onboard an American battleship, looking back to see the Titans overrun the port and consuming those who remained. He remembers seeing one of the Titans pick up a young woman, firmly grasping her torso as she screamed at it and squirmed as a futile attempt to bargain for her life.

Near the window stood a table and four chairs, a vase of radiant chrysanthemums and a steaming coffee mug furnishing the table. He reached for the coffee mug and took a sip of the black liquid, the bitterness reinforced with a sweet tangent of sugar. He bit his lower lip and walked away from the window, away from the living room of his apartment which he stood for a quick breather from his reading in the study, where he was headed now. Back on that day, he swore to make the Titans pay for the destruction they brought down on the humans. He swore to avenge the woman's life on that day, the woman who was none other than his mother.

He stepped inside his study and set down the warm mug on his desk beside his book and an opened letter. A gray tablet sat nearly upright horizontally on a metal platform with a digital interface panel, supported by a frame which lined the bottom half of the tablet and the socket on the metal platform on which the tablet fit snug, drawing power from the metal platform via its electronic port.

The tablet displayed a 3D logo of the military's Recon Corps branch as a screen saver, the logo consisting of a marksman rifle and a sword intersecting diagonally in front of a pair of wings emblazoned on a shield. A speaker on the platform chimed twice and an amber button blinked on the panel. The tablet then displayed a camera view of the hall outside his apartment, a female dressed in a long brown overcoat and gray jeans waiting at his front door. Akira tapped the panel. "Come."

A door whizzed distantly from the hallway, opening long enough to let the guest come inside then whizzed shut. Another sound of mechanical whirring suddenly resounded from under the desk and Akira cringed in pain. '_Are you fucking kidding me?_'

He inspected his mechanical right leg, which replaced his natural lower leg, and hit it several times in a vain attempt to get it functional again. He sighed. '_Yup, it's broken for sure now. Leg can't feel my hand slapping it.'_

Footsteps echoed outside the study, growing closer with each step until it reached the open doorway, a female appearing. She looked at Akira and smiled. Akira looked up and nodded.

"Captain Carter," Akira greeted her. "Just in time, my prosthetic seems to have malfunctioned. Again."

She chuckled and kneeled down next to the desk, near where the prosthetic leg laid at rest. She set down the tool kit on the floor and picked out a scanner, performing some minor calibrations for the work she will need to undertake.

"Good morning Sergeant," she replied. "Don't worry about it, I'll get it fixed. Again."

"You don't have to be so formal with me, _Captain_," Akira replied. "I'm not in the Corps. That and you outrank me already."

Carter started her scans on the leg, waving the device up and down the prosthetic.

"Force of habit, Akira," she paused slightly before adding in his name at the end.

The scanner beeped, its screen displayed a diagram of the prosthetic and zoomed closer, highlighting a section near the main electronics controllers.

"I found the problem. I didn't reinforce the electrical bonding on the third electroneural pathway properly which caused a small breakdown in one of the dual receiver nodes, cutting off-"

"In English please," Akira interjected and waved his hand, motioning her to stop explaining.

"I didn't patch you up properly," she simmered down her explanation to a simple statement. Carter found it slightly amusing that her penchant for technobabble would show itself more than she'd like when she's out of the lab. She produced another tool from her tool kit and began to take apart a small panel on the knee of the prosthetic.

"Were you always such a pedantic Carter?"

She looked at Akira and grinned. "Ever since I graduated middle school."

"Hmm," he muffled. Her fiddling with the prosthetic caused it to make weird electrical noises before he felt a slight shock sting his upper leg nerves. It was nothing for Akira, but it was unexpected, and he reacted by cringing and clearing his throat. _'Definitely felt that.'_

"Something wrong?" she asked.

"No, no," he replied. "Just clearing my throat. Ahem."

Carter continued her work, using the tool to recalibrate the microscopic digital boards on the panel before placing it back inside the opening in its socket.

"You know Akira, I never got a chance to… properly thank you," she said as she reached for a microspanner and microsolder in her toolkit.

Akira had given her some extra food last week when Carter was over to perform her monthly maintenance on his prosthetic, volunteering to do it herself regularly instead of having one of her techs to come and do it. He also cooked too much the other night and thought to share it with her so it doesn't go bad. He also thought that might not be the reason she's thanking him for.

"It was nothing, I think I _slightly_ overestimated the portion of macaroni-"

"No," she interrupted. "Not for that. For what you did for me twenty years ago."

He was right. Akira's expression turned blank. He looked at the pictures tacked onto a taupe bulletin board hanging over his desk, its color contrasting the cream walls. One picture was an old one of his father and mother long before World War II looking happy, another picture was of his father, his wife and his son back in 1976, right after his graduation ceremony and induction into the Recon Corps at Fort Carson. They posed at the front entrance of Fort Carson, Akira donning formal military attire with his father and wife in regular civilian clothing and his son, the two year old being held in his mother's arms.

Another picture beside it showed him, Carter, and nineteen others who composed his assigned squad, posing in front of a C-130 transport plane right before their deployment for Operation Fairway in 1978.

He stared at the picture briefly before finally locking his eyes on a picture below with his squad's fireteam element posing in front of a woodland-sprayed UH-60 Blackhawk transport, fully kitted out for their final sortie together.

'_It's been 20 years since that mission…'_

"Oh, for that," he recalled. "I was just doing my duty as a soldier of humanity."

He remembered. They were evacuating from Nagasaki, part of the final mission of Operation Fairway, and his squad was part of the three elements to evacuate alive out of their company. There was a Titan making way towards Carter, already dealing with another Titan ahead of her. He pushed her out of the way, and they barely cleared the Titan after it dove in an attempt to catch the human unsuspectingly. Akira helped her up but the Titan that dove still had energy to continue on, biting off Akira's right leg from the knee down when he was off his guard.

The next thing he remembers was shooting its eyes and mouth before he fainted from shock, barely remembering that it was then—Corporal Carter and another Private First Class who carried him back to their transport. The next thing he remembered was waking up in one of the operating rooms at the Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington D.C., shocked that his leg was missing and feeling very suicidal from his "unworthy" survival of the Nagasaki mission.

"I know, but I wanted to thank you nonetheless. In a way, you helped me to realize that I wasn't meant to be on the front lines being a liability; instead, I do better backstage researching solutions for our dilemmas or better yet, solutions to prevent them. And here it is, I helped develop prototype prosthetics and by the time we had fully working models, I gave one of the first ones to you, for your leg, as a token of my appreciation. And I think this is one of our most advanced prosthetics that you're using, a major step up from the one I first gave you ten years ago."

She closed the panel, finishing her work and the prosthetic leg whirred back to life. Akira's instinct told him to wiggle the prosthetic toes and wave his foot around, and the prosthetic followed his instructions smoothly, the big toes wiggling and the foot waving around with a smooth mechanical hum. He smiled slightly. Carter got up from under the desk.

"55 years and everything's been going shit for me for so long," Akira answered her. "But, you've helped me see that there's still some good in this world. I should be the one thanking you."

He got up from his chair, opened his arms and embraced Carter platonically, happy that she managed to somehow give him his life back with a prosthetic leg, the one thing that brought him out of his suicide tendencies. He was satisfied with the fact that by saving her, he managed to let one of humanity's greatest scientific minds live on to create such marvels of technology, allowing those who lost their limbs to regain them artificially. Also quite possibly, advancing the field of robotics into a new generation with her team's research. He was happy because he realized in a world ridden with despair, there is still hope.

The tablet on his desk played a notification sound and displayed on the bottom right corner "NEW MESSAGE (1 Unread, 1 Urgent)". Glancing at the screen, he let go of Carter and sat on his chair, tapping the notification to open up the email application. Akira had hoped it was from his acquaintance who had sold him a book he was searching for, finally getting the opportunity to meet with him to finalize his purchase and obtain it. The email application filled the tablet's screen, displaying the new message that Akira received. Not the one he was expecting however.

"It's from the Corps Chief of Staff," Akira read out loud the sender of the message.

"General Shinseki?" Carter asked excitedly, looking over Akira's shoulder as he continued to read the message. "What did he say?"

Akira's momentary feeling of relief disappeared quickly as it came. The Recon Corps Chief of Staff wanted him to come to Fort Carson to "talk" amongst other things.

"Oh. That probably means he asked for me too," Carter said as she finished reading the message.

"No…" he rebutted. "I think I know why he called for me."

'_Damn it,'_ he thought. He didn't leave the Recon Corps on the best of terms, especially with then-Colonel Shinseki who was his CO for Operation Fairway, and voiced very loudly he doesn't want to come back should he recover from his "ordeal". Akira was given an honourable discharge nonetheless but left before fully explaining what really happened at Nagasaki. The Walter Reed psychologists didn't recommend it to avoid a full mental breakdown but Shinseki probably felt it okay to continue his debriefing now that he's been given some time.

"Are you alright?" Carter interrupted his train of thought. Akira looked up and nodded.

"Yeah, just thinking about the last time I talked to him."

With another goodwill gesture, Carter reached out her hand to him. "Come on, I'll go with you."

Akira couldn't really put his finger on it, but there was something about Carter that reminded him of his own mother. Somewhat eerie because he didn't get the chance to know her that well. He shut off the tablet screen and got up from the chair, the repaired leg now functioning like a charm.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

_Hey everyone! If you're still around reading this chapter, that's great! If you don't like where this is headed or how it's set, that's okay too. It's not everyone's cup of tea._

_Anyway, you probably noticed I did a massive time skip from the Prologue. My logic for that was, 'I can get the reader interested by showing him some of the action that he could expect from such a story.' That and it was the seed of this series, it was the one-shot that made me think of a whole new alternate universe for SnK set in a more modern time period. And why not show one of the first missions from humanity's bloodiest campaigns since the Titans first appeared after World War II._

_Also, this is how I'll be formatting my chapters; there will be two subsections for each chapter that follows a point of view from a different character or serve as a "history lesson" of sorts to put some context into the chapter. If there is a main character being introduced, I will label them alongside the subsection title, so now you can establish Akira Okazaki as a main character._

_Chapter Two will be out in a bit and I'll introduce two main characters we'll be seeing a lot more of._

_Thanks again for sticking around, I'll see you in the next chapter!_

_- Dexter_


	3. Chapter Two: A Close Call

**Chapter Two: A Close Call**

Many of the older townships and holdings in North America that weren't included within the wall constructions were promptly abandoned and as a result, many unused buildings and materials lay in places all over the continent. When the final walls in the Eastern region were completed in 1965, the American Coalition Forces shifted their focus on technology research, information reconnaissance, and the reacquisition of resources for humanity's use.

There were many blunders and casualties at first but as time went on and battles were fought, plans were developed to ensure that each mission would provide the highest return at the lowest casualty cost. Each mission provided a steady amount of materials that could be recycled for use and as a result, had a part in helping to stabilize the disarrayed economy.

After the relative success of Operation Fairway, the ACF Sciences Division invested resources into developing technology that could effectively reduce the human-to-Titan casualty ratio by half. Some who transferred into the Sciences Division after Fairway, including Captain Rachel Carter, provided their experience and newfound expertise into upgrading the existing arsenal and drawing up new prototype equipment. After 10 years, developments by the Sciences Division were starting to look promising.

**Dawn of an Era – Melissa Palmer ****(Springfield, Colorado, September 9, 1999)**

The sun shone brightly in the blue sky devoid of any cloudy obstructions, a rare sight for many people to enjoy as they go about their day busy trying to pay their bills, keep food on the table, and live to see another day. Melissa Palmer's squad from the 7th Recon Corps Division had the opportunity to enjoy such a moment, as they were assigned to field test experimental technology developed by the Sciences Division. They were at the Springfield Testing Grounds south of Fort Carson, a supposedly controlled open-ground environment where Sciences does performance testing on every prototype weapon and equipment known to exist in the Coalition arsenal.

The site was secured, with three other squads from the 7th's Bravo Company on the perimeter keeping lookout and a Defense Corps Company on standby from Fort Carson as QRF. If there were any Titans that showed up, they would know about it; if things get too out of hand, the perimeter squads would fall in and be extracted by the 1st Defense Corps QRF.

Melissa rested her arm from shielding her face from the bright sunlight and focused her vision to the southern treeline where she could see a billowing cloud of dust trailing towards her. A Titan was making its way towards her and her squadmate who is also participating in the test.

"Bravo 2-4 Actual, this is Bravo 2-2," a male voice announced himself through her comms. "Two Titans coming from the southeast, both Class A's, over."

"Acknowledged Bravo 2-2, we're looking at the dust trail now, over" she replied and readied her weapon. She punched in some commands on a small computer interface mounted on her left wrist. The machine responded with an acknowledgement beep and blinked "J-APS READY" on the small screen.

The flat back-mounted gas tank part of the experimental equipment hissed and blew some gas out of the relief valve at the bottom. Next to her, Corporal Beasley activated his equipment, also hissing and blowing out some gas. As good as he was trying to hide it, Melissa could see he was trying to prevent his legs from shaking uncontrollably.

"Corporal, you're sure about this?" she asked him.

He looked at her, the surprise reaction plastered over his face. "Ma'am?"

"I won't think any less of you if you aren't."

He feigned his obliviousness until she pointed out "your legs are shaking."

He looked down then looked back towards Melissa and nodded. "It's a bit cold… ma'am."

She chuckled. "It's September in the middle of a sunny day."

There was a pause before took a deep breath, shrugged and confidently nodded.

"I can do it ma'am."

The cloud of dust began to close and loud footsteps can be heard in the distance.

"You better be able to, cause they're here."

From the treeline, they could see two 6m Titans emerging followed by a trail of dust from their thundering footsteps. They quickened their pace to reach their human snacks before they could try to escape.

"Bravo 2-4, stand by to engage Class A targets," she declared to her squad through the radio before starting her charge towards the Titans. A sound of humming could be heard coming from her boots, modified to be compatible with the new equipment and equipped with small jet nozzles.

Corporal Beasley followed closely behind her, their wrist computers continuously blinking the state of the experimental equipment before displaying various readouts. The distance between them and the Titans closed significantly and were almost at point blank range for their weapons.

"Now!" Melissa yelled out.

At her command, she and Beasley entered a single command on their wrist computers and the status notification of the equipment changed to ACTIVE. They both jumped down onto the ground with both feet and sprang up into the air. The boot nozzles and the tank pack nozzle blasted out streams of hot air, propelling Melissa and Beasley over the Titans as they overshot their human targets.

They both aim their assault rifles at the napes of the decelerating Titans and fire steady bursts of 7.62mm rounds, effectively penetrating deep into the skin and perforating the nape. As they landed, the nozzles ejected more streams of air to soften the landing and prevent them from breaking their legs. One of the Titans collapsed as a result of the sustained fire on its nape but one of them was still active, turning to face the duo of soldiers who managed to avoid them in the air.

"I got him Corporal, go back to the squad!" Melissa ordered him to return to an abandoned building where the squad and a small Sciences team were garrisoned.

She began her charge towards the Titan, standing there in confusion, and jumped above it with the help of the new equipment. She used her momentum to manipulate herself in a position to shoot the nape. She fired streams of 7.62mm as she sailed through the air and caused the Titan to collapse just as she landed. The Titan's body hit the ground with a loud thud and steam rose out from the gaping hole made by Melissa's rifle.

She confidently walked up to the Class A carcass, grinning at how easy it was to kill a small Titan alone using the new Jet-Assisted Propulsion System. Killing even a Class A alone is considered no small feat amongst humanity's soldiers; only a small amount of soldiers have racked several solo kills, and there are even fewer who live today to tell the story.

"Bravo 2-4 Actual, Bravo 2-3, two Class As and a Class B coming from the south," another man from the 3rd Squad reported on the radio.

"Acknowledged."

She pulled out the almost empty 7.62mm magazine from the bullpup rifle's magazine well, tucked it inside a vest pocket on her chest rig, and pulled out a fresh magazine from another pocket.

"Bravo 2-4 standing by," the squad's second-in-command's voice rang through to inform Melissa they were ready if she needed help.

Melissa firmly seated the new magazine into the well and checked on the J-APS's status. There was a substantial amount of gas left and the indication still blinked an emerald ACTIVE text. The ground started to rumble slightly and the sound of big footsteps grew louder. She looked up and started sprinting towards the incoming Titans.

A pair of 5m Titans charged towards the center of the training grounds, trailed closely by a slower 9m which had a bulked torso, toned arms, and long skinny legs. Melissa sprung herself close to a tree and stepped off the trunk of the tree to build up momentum.

The 5m pair transitioned into a dive forward, attempting to catch the flying soldier but failed, leaving their napes in a vulnerable position for Melissa to unload hellfire. The slower 9m lagged behind, giving time for Melissa to set herself up in a position to strike above it.

Once the 9m finally closed in, Melissa once again used a tree to build up momentum. She could hear her squad rushing out from their cover and an unfamiliar voice yelling out orders. She rose steadily into the air until she came to a dead stop in front of the 9m's face.

'_Fuck, I fucked up,'_ she scolded herself for being too overconfident.

The 9m opened its wide mouth and leaned its head closer Melissa.

'_Shit, shit, shit, fuck. Not like this.'_

Gravity finally took a hold of her but it came too late; by the time she gets down a couple of feet, she'll land on the 9m's tongue. As a final act, she fired her rifle down its throat, attempting to get the 9m to back down.

Through the noise of gunfire, she didn't hear the sound of another soldier using the J-APS to successfully jump up and over the Titan. The unknown soldier used the same method Melissa used to build up her momentum but somehow, reached farther than she could and managed to manipulate herself more smoothly while maneuvering into position to kill the 9m.

Once she was at the apex of her jump, she fired on the Titan with the full force of the 30 round magazine. Somehow, she successfully incapacitated it.

'_Pretty sure I didn't do that,'_ she noted. The 9m groaned and suddenly snapped its mouth shut, its teeth barely clearing Melissa's rifle. The flash hider was sheared off, leaving jagged edges at the end of the barrel.

She watched while falling back as the Titan slumped over to her right and collapsed. A thick plume of steam rose from its neck. Other soldiers from her squad started to exclaim about the other soldier's feat, single-handedly maneuvering over a Class B and killing it.

"Thanks for that," Melissa called out to the soldier.

The unknown turned to face Melissa, revealing a woman with an auburn bob-cut, some of the tips shaded in pink. She noted on her shoulder patch three chevrons, three rockers, and in between, a laurel surrounding the Defense Corps insignia. It was the representation of the Command Sergeant Major rank, an uncommon sight to be seen amongst the ACF's enlisted.

'_Should've known it'd be her. Damn. She's fucking exceptional.'_

"… ma'am," Melissa added to the end of her sentence immediately.

The CSM nodded her head and started back to the building. She placed her left hand on Melissa's shoulder as she passed her and paused.

"You did great," she met Melissa's face with her gaze. "Carry on."

A chill travelled down Melissa's back, meeting the CSM's comments by bowing her head slightly. She didn't know what to say to her except a very quiet "thank you" under her breath.

The CSM chuckled to herself and continued on towards the building.

"Major Reisz, this is Bravo-2-Sciences," she called on her radio for Bravo Company's commander.

"J-APS fielding is successful, what are our orders, over?"

As she carried on her conversation with the Company commander, another soldier approached her from the same direction the Class B entered the training grounds.

"I was watching you from where we had the observation post set up," he began, his strides bringing him to arm's length of Melissa. "Pretty ballsy of you to send Beasles out of the pit."

"You're still using that lame-ass nickname for him?" she retorted in kind to his comment.

"I didn't come up with it, you did."

"Whatever. What'dya think of my acrobatics though?"

He shrugged his shoulder. "Could've done better. CSM Kuriyama definitely stole the show from you by killing that Class B."

Melissa looked back at the CSM. It was noted by many how women of descent from an Asian country had an exceptional ability to retain their youthfulness. For her age, she looked like she could be in her late 20s. CSM Kuriyama was a veteran of Operation Fairway and teaches advanced combat tactics for the Defense Corps at Fort Lee, Virginia. She was one of the soldiers who lived to share tales of combat and one of the fewer to have several unassisted solo kills under their belt.

The ACF Sciences Division called on her expertise to test out their latest development: a propulsive maneuvering system that allows a human combatant to utilize three planes of movement instead of two planes in conventional warfare. Her ability to adapt her perspective of the battlefield is one of her exceptional assets. Today, she is a key instructor for the fielding of J-APS units to ACF troops and every soldier she had instructed was able to effectively use the J-APS against a Titan once.

"She said I did great then walked away."

"Hm," her fellow soldier smiled. "Don't take it personally Lisa. That's actually a compliment from her, and it's a rare gesture."

She faced him and raised an eyebrow. "And how could you possibly know that?"

He looked down at her feet then back towards her eyes. "I told you, my dad talked to a lot of people during his time with the Corps."

"This is Major Reisz," their radio speakers blared out. "Pack it up Bravo Company, we're going back to Fort Carson. Reisz out."

Melissa shut off the J-APS on the wrist computer and slung the assault rifle behind her back. The pair then picked up a crate of equipment and placed it on a flat dolly. In the distance, they could hear the sound of UH-60 Blackhawks starting up their rotors for take-off.

"So what's for dinner tonight Okazaki?" she asked, walking alongside the dolly while he was pushing it. She could see in his eyes that he was slightly terrified of almost losing her to a Titan. If it wasn't for Kuriyama, she'd really be dead. Or worse, live through an extremely severe injury. He hid his terror very well but she knew him well enough to know he was concealing it.

"My dad makes a mad macaroni salad," he replied intellectually.

"Hmm, is that finally an invitation to see your dad?"

"Maybe," he responded quizzically.

She noted he wasn't his usual witty self like before.

'_Maybe just for today.'_

"How about before we meet your dad, we… unwind," her voice's suggestive tone lightened the mood further, which was enough to push Okazaki back to his regular self.

"Now you're being ridiculous," Okazaki responded bluntly.

"Oh," she looked down at the ground and frowned.

"We can't just do it before dinner, we have to wait until he leaves the house."

She smirked then looked him in the eye. He smiled slightly at her then looked towards the Blackhawks that were taking them back home to Fort Carson.

She stretched her arms out and expressed a loud sigh of relief.

"Aside from that close call, I can see this day ending very well."

* * *

**Author's Notes**

_Hey everyone! Sorry if this took longer than expected, life happens! In this chapter, Melissa Palmer is introduced as one of the main characters and later on in one of Bravo company's observation squads, her "close friend" Okazaki is introduced. The final part of the chapter is a segue that will introduce the next main character, Kenneth Okazaki who is the son of Akira Okazaki and just like him, enlisted in the Corps._

_If you guys haven't noticed yet, I ripped off the 3DMG so hard, called it a Jet-Assisted Propulsion System (J-APS) and made it in a way that's somewhat different; there's no wires or any grapplers, it's just compressed hot air. The complete system requires a microcomputer to manipulate the amount of gas required to launch the user and is adaptable to different terrain settings. The compressed hot air is then directed to several nozzles on the boots and a nozzle on the back-mounted gas pack, adding momentum to the user's movement. It activates as the user launches, when the user is maneuvering in mid-air, and right before the user lands to soften their fall or add momentum for rapid relaunch. Because it is still a relatively new concept, the Sciences Division considers the J-APS an experimental technology._

_Like the 3DMG, the J-APS requires extensive training to use effectively and is slowly being phased into some Recon Corps Divisions for regular combat use. Units given the opportunity are granted at least one week reprieve to get themselves familiarized with the new system. With an efficient instructor, the process only takes a month to learn and with experience, three months to completely get the hang of it._

_Thanks again for sticking around, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll have the next installation out in a bit!_

_- Dexter_


End file.
